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Monday, March 19, 2012

Alpha Kappa Member Runs for Regional Office

At the New York Regional Convention this weekend in Saratoga, Alpha Kappa member Romina Moyano will run for the Regional Office of Southern District Vice President.

Moyano joined Alpha Kappa last semester. “The academic recognition [of PTK] made me curious,” she says. “After the information session and a couple of meetings I got pulled in.”

Moyano became a very active Chapter member. She has contributed to multiple projects and used her computer skills to make the Chapter’s blog more appealing and accessible. Besides enrolling in PTK this year, Moyano also applied to the Exploring Transfer Program, which allows community college students to take a five-week program at Vassar over the summer.

“Vassar is comparable to having college credits at an elite institution. Having exposure to that kind of program would be gratifying,” she says.

Moyano hopes to climb to the next tier of leadership by being elected Southern VP. “I’m running for Regional Office for the same reason that drove me to become an active member,” she says. As a Regional Officer Moyano hopes to build her leadership skills and work with a group of driven leaders.

“Some of the benefits of being a regional officer are: less hours of sleep, more hours of work, fewer opportunities to dine during normal times,” jokes current Western VP Tim Gaura.

According to the Regional Office, VP’s are responsible for the “orderly operation of the New York Region.” These responsibilities include planning the fall leadership conference and submitting monthly reports on their district, among other duties.

Regional Coordinator Rene Rojas says it’s the “other duties” that take up most of a VP’s time. Vice Presidents often travel to colleges in their district to give keynote speeches at induction ceremonies. “They are offering information about the New York Region’s goals to other chapters,” says Rojas.

At this week’s Regional Convention candidates can distribute campaign flyers and talk to PTK members before giving a two-minute speech about why they should be elected. Moyano has anxieties about giving her speech. When describing her first assignment in her Speech 100 class, she says: “I turned beet red, I had my head down looking at my paper, and I rushed through the words. But I improved in the class and I guess Regional Office is the next step.”

Moyano says she’s having difficulties getting her speech down to two minutes. “It’s tough, I have a good speech. I’m going to have to cut out more about me. It’s more important to communicate my vision and plans as a New York Officer.”

Regional Coordinator Rojas says the speech is the most important part of being elected. “The person with a vision typically gets the position,” he says.

Moyano has a vision. As a Regional Officer she wants to promote PTK’s hallmark of service. She says some chapters put their service projects on the backburner to focus on more rigorous tasks like the Honors Project. “Our Service Project could be as awesome as our Honors Project,” she says.

Already, Moyano coordinates with other student groups, like the Students in Free Enterprise, to organize a canned food drive. SIFE is donating to a small shelter, which Moyano says often gets overlooked.

If elected she hope to establish a service project in the Regional Office. “[School chapters] would say: hey, they have an idea already, lets do that,” She predicts.

Moyano plans to promote her plans for a Regional Service Project at this weekend’s Regional Convention.

“I don't feel as though many people understand the importance of just doing something,” Says Western VP Gaura. “Many people struggle with feelings of inadequacy or fears of the unknown, but I have found in my own life, and in the lives of others, that the things we regret most in life is not what we do, but what we don't do.”